Israel Shahak (April 28, 1933 – July 2, 2001) (Hebrew: ישראל שחק) was a Professor of Chemistry at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the former president of the Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights, and an outspoken critic of the Israeli government and of Israeli society in general. April 28 is the 118th day of the year (119th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 247 days remaining. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 182 days remaining. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Hebrew (עִבְרִית, ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Jewish communities around the world. ... Chemistry (derived from alchemy) is the science of matter at or near the atomic scale. ... The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (האוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים) is one of Israels biggest and most important institutes of higher learning and research. ... Jerusalem (Hebrew: Yerushalayim; Arabic: al-Quds; Greek Ιεροσόλυμα; Latin: Modern Times-Hierosolyma, Under the Roman Empire: Aelia Capitolina) is an ancient Middle Eastern city on the watershed between the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea at an elevation of 650-840 metres (about 2000-2500 feet). ...

Biography

Born in Warsaw, Poland, Shahak was the youngest child of a cultured Polish Jewish family. After Nazi Germany occupied Poland, his family was forced into Warsaw Ghetto. His brother escaped and joined the Royal Air Force (only to be shot down), and his father disappeared. His mother paid a poor Catholic family to hide him, but when her money ran out he was returned, and in 1943 they were both sent to Belsen concentration camp. Israel Shahak was liberated in 1945, and shortly thereafter emigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine, where he volunteered for a kibbutz but was turned down. Warsaw (Polish: , (?), in full The Capital City of Warsaw, Polish: Miasto StoÅ‚eczne Warszawa) is the capital of Poland and its largest city. ... This article describes some ethnic, historic, and cultural aspects of the Jewish identity; for a consideration of the Jewish religion, refer to the article Judaism. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... The Ghetto Heroes Memorial The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest of the Jewish ghettos established by Nazi Germany in General Government during the Holocaust in World War II. In the three years of its existence, starvation, disease and deportations to concentration camps and extermination camps dropped the population of the... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Bergen-Belsen, sometimes referred to as just Belsen, was a German concentration camp in the Nazi era. ... Map of the territory under the British Mandate of Palestine. ... Kibbutz Dan, near Qiryat Shemona, in the Upper Galilee, 1990s A kibbutz (Hebrew: קיבוץ; plural: kibbutzim: קיבוצים, gathering or together) is an Israeli collective community. ...

After graduating from high school Shahak served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in an elite regiment. ^[1] After completing service with the IDF, he attended Hebrew University where he received his doctorate in chemistry. In 1961, he left Israel for the United States to study as a postdoctoral student at Stanford University. He returned two years later to become a teacher and researcher in chemistry at Hebrew University, where he remained until his retirement in 1990. He published many scientific papers, mostly on organic fluorine compounds. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) (Hebrew: צבא ×”×”×’× ×” לישראל , [Army] Force for the Defense of Israel), often abbreviated with the Hebrew acronym צהל Tsahal, alternative English spelling Tzahal, is the name of Israels armed forces, comprising the Israeli Army, the Israeli Air Force and the Israeli Navy. ... The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (האוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים) is one of Israels biggest and most important institutes of higher learning and research. ... Chemistry (derived from alchemy) is the science of matter at or near the atomic scale. ... Stanford redirects here. ... The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (האוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים) is one of Israels biggest and most important institutes of higher learning and research. ...

After the 1967 Six-Day War Shahak became critical of Israel's treatment of Palestinians, and a supporter of a Palestinian state. He wrote a number of works that are popular among anti-Zionists and which argue that Israeli law and society contains entrenched attitudes of Jewish supremacism. Combatants Israel Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq Commanders Yitzhak Rabin, Moshe Dayan, Uzi Narkiss, Israel Tal, Ariel Sharon Abdel Hakim Amer, Abdul Munim Riad, Zaid ibn Shaker, Hafez al-Assad Strength 50,000 troops (264,000 including mobilized reservists); 197 combat aircraft Egypt 150,000 troops; Syria 75,000; Jordan 55... The term Palestinian has other usages, for which see definitions of Palestinian. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with State of Palestine. ... Anti-Zionism is a term used to describe several different political and religious points of view. ... Supremacism is the belief that a particular race, religion, gender, belief system or culture is superior to others and entitles those who identify with it to dominate, control or rule those who do not. ...

Shahak died in Israel at the age of 68 due to complications from diabetes. In his obituary in The Guardian Elfi Pallis described him as "an old-fashioned liberal". ^[1] For the disease characterized by excretion of large amounts of severely diluted urine, see diabetes insipidus. ... The Guardian is a British newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ...

Politics and works

Shahak reports having been radicalized first by the Suez War and his feeling of betrayal by David Ben-Gurion's push to occupy the Sinai Peninsula, then continuing through his time in the United States. Following the Six-Day War of 1967, Shahak joined the Israeli League for Human and Civil Rights; he was elected president of the League in 1970. The Suez Crisis, also known as the Suez War, Suez Campaign or Kadesh Operation was a war fought on Egyptian territory in 1956. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Suez (west), Gulf of Aqaba (east) from Space Shuttle STS-40 For other uses of the word Sinai, please see: Sinai (disambiguation). ... Combatants Israel Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq Commanders Yitzhak Rabin, Moshe Dayan, Uzi Narkiss, Israel Tal, Ariel Sharon Abdel Hakim Amer, Abdul Munim Riad, Zaid ibn Shaker, Hafez al-Assad Strength 50,000 troops (264,000 including mobilized reservists); 197 combat aircraft Egypt 150,000 troops; Syria 75,000; Jordan 55...

He began publishing translations of the Hebrew press into English, alongside his own commentaries, arguing that Western activists needed better knowledge about conditions in Israel, and that the English-language editions of Hebrew newspapers were being intentionally distorted for Western audiences. This practice, along with writing letters to the editor, remained staples of his work for decades. The term Western world or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ...

He became a well-known activist in international circles, co-authoring papers and giving joint speaking engagements with American activist Noam Chomsky, and winning plaudits from Christopher Hitchens and Edward Said. Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (b. ... Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (born April 13, 1949) is an author, journalist and literary critic. ... Edward Said Edward Wadie Said (November 1, 1935 – September 25, 2003; Arabic: ) was a well-known Palestinian American literary theorist, critic, and outspoken pro-Palestinian activist. ...

In 1994, he wrote Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years, in which he argued that traditional Orthodox Judaism was a chauvinistic religion, and that this chauvinism had been carried over into many aspects of contemporary Israeli society, particularly in what he perceived as institutionalized racism and human rights abuses against Palestinians. He went on to write Open Secrets: Israel's Nuclear and Foreign Policies published in 1997, and co-authored with Norton Mezvinsky Jewish Fundamentalism In Israel, published in 1999. They introduce the latter by stating "We realize that by criticizing Jewish fundamentalism we are criticizing a part of the past that we love. We wish that members of every human grouping would criticize their own past, even before criticizing others." Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight Of Three Thousand Years is a critical examination of Judaism by Israeli chemistry professor and political activist Israel Shahak. ... Orthodox Judaism is the stream of Judaism which adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmud (The Oral Law) and later codified in the Shulkhan Arukh (Code of Jewish Law). It is governed by these works and the Rabbinical commentary... Chauvinism is extreme and unreasoning partisanship on behalf of a group to which one belongs, especially when the partisanship includes malice and hatred towards a rival group. ...

Despite the fact that Shahak was a victim of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust, and although professing a strong opposition to racism and anti-Semitism, ^[2] his books can be found (in violation of his copyright) on Holocaust denial websites widely considered anti-Semitic, ^[3] such as Radio Islam, "Bible Believers", CODOH, and "Historical Review Press". The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... Selection at the Auschwitz camp in 1944, where the Nazis chose whom to kill immediately and whom to use as slave labor or for medical experimentation. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Richard Harwoods Did Six Million Really Die? Holocaust denial is the claim that the mainstream historical version of the Holocaust is either highly exaggerated or completely falsified. ... Radio Islam, was a Swedish radio channel, now a website, dedicated to the liberation struggle of the Palestinian people against Israel. The EUs racism monitoring organization has called it one of the most radical right wing anti-Semitic homepages on the net, and Radio Islam also espouses Holocaust denial. ... Richard Harwoods Did Six Million Really Die? Holocaust denial is the claim that the mainstream historical version of the Holocaust is either highly exaggerated or completely falsified. ...

In the introduction to the 2002 edition of the book Norton Mezvinsky, Shahak's co-author on Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel, writes that anti-Semites and anti-Semitic groups "utilize unduly Shahak's criticisms in trying to justify their hatred of Jews. They have continued to do this either by citing and/or using out-of-context some of Shahak's points. They allege that what Shahak wrote confirms their generalizations about the 'evil nature' of Jews."

Critics

Shahak's books and articles have been controversial; his critics have accused him of fabricating incidents, "blaming the victim", distorting the normative meaning of Jewish texts, and misrepresenting Jewish belief and law. ^{[4] [5] [6] [7]} The Anti-Defamation League has listed Shahak as one of four authors of polemics in its paper The Talmud in Anti-Semitic Polemics. ^[8] Steven Plaut and the Conservative Voice have described him as an "anti-semite"; ^{[9] [10]} while the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America describes him as "one of the world's leading anti-Semites". ^[7] The Anti-Defamation League (or ADL) is an organization founded by Bnai Brith in the United States whose stated aim is to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. ... Tractate Brachos, folio 2a The Talmud (תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions of Jewish law, ethics, customs, and stories, which are authoritative in Jewish tradition. ... The Eternal Jew: 1937 German poster. ... Steven Plaut (born in 1951) is a Professor on the faculty of the Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Haifa and a writer. ... The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) is a non-profit, tax-exempt, media watchdog group based in Boston that mostly addresses media coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict it considers unfair to Israel. ...

Footnotes

1. ^ ^a b Pallis, Elfi. Israel Shahak, The Guardian, July 6, 2001.
2. ^ For example, he writes in Jewish History: "Modern racism (of which antisemitism is part) although caused by specific social conditions, becomes, when it gains strength, a force that in my opinion can only be described as demonic."
3. ^ The E.U. Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia, Anti-Defamation League, Stephen Roth Institute,[1] [2] American Jewish Committee,[3] the Southern Poverty Law Center,[4] Political Research Associates, [5]and various academics (e.g. [6]) have described these websites and groups as anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi hate sites/groups that engage in Holocaust Denial.
4. ^ Mathis, Andrew. The Interpretational Errors of Israel Shahak, June 8, 2000. URL accessed May 12, 2006.
5. ^ Jakobovitz, Immanuel. A Modern Blood Libel--L'Affaire Shahak, Tradition, Volume 8, Number 2, Summer 1966.
6. ^ Student, Gil. Shabbat and Gentile Lives, AishDas Society website, 2001. URL accessed May 12, 2006.
7. ^ ^a b Edward Said's Documented Deceptions, Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, August 1999. URL accessed July 7, 2006.
8. ^ The Talmud in Anti-Semitic Polemics, Anti-Defamation League, February 2003. URL accessed May 12, 2006.
9. ^ Plaut, Steven. The Jihadnik Prof at UC-Santa Barbara, FrontPageMag.com, June 7, 2005. URL accessed July 9, 2006.
10. ^ Neuwirth, Rachel. The Chomsky File, The Conservative Voice, January 6, 2005. URL accessed July 9, 2005.

The Guardian is a British newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ... The Anti-Defamation League (or ADL) is an organization founded by Bnai Brith in the United States whose stated aim is to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. ... The stated Mission of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) is to safeguard the welfare and security of Jews in the United States, in Israel, and throughout the world; to strengthen the basic principles of pluralism around the world, as the best defense against anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry... The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American non-profit legal, educational, and intelligence-gathering group for the purposes of advocacy for civil rights and against racism. ... Political Research Associates (PRA) is a non-profit research group located in Somerville, Massachusetts, which studies the U.S. political right wing, as well as white supremacists, anti-Semitic groups, and paramilitary organizations. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The terms Neo-Nazism and Neo-Fascism refer to any social or political movement to revive Nazism or Fascism, respectively, and postdates the Second World War. ... Richard Harwoods Did Six Million Really Die? Holocaust denial is the claim that the mainstream historical version of the Holocaust is either highly exaggerated or completely falsified. ... Immanuel Jakobovits, also Baron Jakobovits (8 February 1921 - 31 October 1999) was the Orthodox Judaism Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth from 1967 to 1991. ... Gil Student is an Orthodox rabbi and a graduate of Yeshiva University who has written extensively about the interface between Judaism, more specifically Orthodox Judaism, and modern controversial topics. ... The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) is a non-profit, tax-exempt, media watchdog group based in Boston that mostly addresses media coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict it considers unfair to Israel. ... The Anti-Defamation League (or ADL) is an organization founded by Bnai Brith in the United States whose stated aim is to stop, by appeals to reason and conscience and, if necessary, by appeals to law, the defamation of the Jewish people. ... Steven Plaut (born in 1951) is a Professor on the faculty of the Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Haifa and a writer. ... FrontPageMag. ...

Further reading

• Oded Yinon (translated by Israel Shahak) Zionist Plan for the Middle East, Association of Arab-American University Graduates, Inc., June, 1982, paperback ISBN 0937694568
• Israel Shahak and Noam Chomsky, Israel's Global Role: Weapons for Repression (Studies in Geophysical Optics and Remote Sensing), Association of Arab-American University Graduates, Inc., April 1982, paperback, ISBN 0937694517
• Israel Shahak, Jewish History, Jewish Religion: The Weight of Three Thousand Years, Stylus Publishing, LLC, December, 1994, trade paperback, ISBN 0745308198
• Israel Shahak, Open Secrets: Israeli Foreign and Nuclear Policies, Stylus Publishing, December, 1997, hardcover, 193 pages, ISBN 0745311520
• Israel Shahak and Norton Mezvinsky, Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel (Pluto Middle Eastern Series), Pluto Press (UK), October, 1999, hardcover, 176 pages, ISBN 0745312810; trade paperback, Pluto Press, (UK), October, 1999, ISBN 0745312764; 2nd edition with new introduction by Norton Mezvinsky, trade paperback July, 2004, 224 pages, ISBN 0745320902
• Israel Shahak, Israel's Global Role : Weapons for Repression (Special Reports, No. 4), Association of Arab-American University Graduates, 1982, paperback
• Paul Bogdanor, "Chomsky's Ayatollahs", in Edward Alexander and Paul Bogdanor (editors), The Jewish Divide Over Israel, Transaction Publishers, 2006, hardcover, ISBN 0765803275

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (b. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Israel Shahak

• Complete Online Database of Shahak's Articles & Books
• Obituary from The Guardian newspaper, UK
• With Israel Shahak’s Death, A Prophetic Voice Is Stilled from the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs

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Criticism

• A Modern Blood Libel--L'Affaire Shahak by Immanuel Jakobovits, in Tradition, Volume 8, Number 2, Summer 1966
• The Interpretational Errors of Israel Shahak by Andrew Mathis
• The Jews are Bad! by Werner Cohn
• Shabbat and Gentile Lives Gil Student on Shahak's claims